FOREX / Trading Aboard

[troymclure]

Currently forex trading for a living and planning to move aboard within the next few months (need to find a boat first).

I certainly hope it's possible, I can't think of anything about livingaboard and forex trading which are incompatible.

So long as you have a good wireless internet connection and a good electrical system it should be fine.

Of course, most people who trade forex don't continue to trade forex, it's taken me years to get to a point where I think I can actually make a living off it (and it's still touch and go at times) so unless you're already trading forex i'd be very wary of using forex as an income source without prior experience.

Of course maybe you're more suited to forex then I am and you won't have any problems... but 90% of people don't make money from forex, no idea how long it takes the other 10% too get there but I think only a very few are profitable from day one.

Good luck whatever your endevours.

[AtomicPhil]

Wow i was thinking the same thing. i wanted to take classes for forex trading just to help make money to get a boat, while working hard for it. and im thinking of going in as a marine merchant for few months and come back with money to buy a boat, or invest a part of it. forex would help i know a lady and a classmate who made $600 in a day. sometimes less or more depends how good you are. but what also help is to put some money in CD's the more money you put in the more money it generates to help pay for crusing and boat expenses.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by AtomicPhil

i wanted to take classes for forex trading just to help make money to get a boat, while working hard for it. and im thinking of going in as a marine merchant for few months and come back with money to buy a boat, or invest a part of it. forex would help i know a lady and a classmate who made $600 in a day. sometimes less or more depends how good you are.

Investment professionals used to say only invest money you can afford to lose; I leave it to you to consider if their advice is still worth it. Instead I leave you with two additional questions:

1) Do you think the forex market is a zero-sum game or that there is a mechanism in it where value is created from (what at least appears to be) nothing?

2) Let's say the class you pick claims that if you with them an follow their methods, you will be in the top 25% of traders -- does there seem to be something philosophically wrong with that? I.e., could 90% of the traders be in the top 25%?

[troymclure]

Gotta agree with Maren about being careful with forex "classes" especially those that offer guarenteed trading returns.

Basically stay away from any sort of "system" or "trading guru" who promises you x amount of returns per week.

There is a couple of reputable forex trading shops who offer live shoutouts and trading oppurtunities but they cost a bit of money and you actually have to trade what they call and they still get things wrong.

I think if you're really keen to start getting into forex i'd advice spending a year or so, just studying and practise trading. Get a demo account from any of the known forex brokers (Oanda is popular though I don't use them myself) and do that for a year while you read/learn everything you can. And make sure (after a year of practise) that when you start you are investing money that you can afford to lose.

It's definately got it's perks as far as careers go. At my level... thats not the money, probably made just as much working in retail as I do now. But theres no boss... i can take days off if I want (not that I do)... get to work from home and generally have a fair bit of spare time throughout the day so long as you keep an eye on the screens... which all gells with the cruising lifestyle well and maybe one day the money will be alright as well.

Tis worth it from my perspective but it may not be for all people in all situations, and please do IMO take some time to practise and then invest money you don't need to live on.

[LookingForCruiser]

I'm not a forex trader, but I do work on forex trading software. I strongly recommend you don't try to make money trading forex. You'll be competing with sharks who have access to more information than you'll ever be able to get.

In an market trending upwards you can make some money day trading equities, as a rising tide floats all boats, trending downwards as things are right now, you'll probably get eaten alive at that as well. Regardless I think your chances are better with equities than forex.

But I'm just a systems guy and not an actual trader, so take it all with a grain of salt. Of course the actual trader who contributed was also pessimistic...

Remember, to make money at this, on every trade you need to ask yourself if you know more than the guy selling to you, who has gone and made the opposite decision.

[Eventide]

maybe i'm missing something but i have found that trading the s&p, and the gbp and the jpy on forex, are very do-able. depending on where you are cruising, a data card set up on a boat offers a very dependable connection, much more so than wifi. others i know are using satellite when they are tied up at a dock.

as mentioned, trading requires discipline, money management and a solid system. firm and conservative stops and targets are a must, as is a dependable front end program that will (almost) unfailingly execute for you. i find that earning $300 to $500 per day per contract / lot is something well within reach.

learning and sim trading before you start with real money is essential, but i find this to be a great business with very few moving parts (no employees, inventory, bricks and morter, liability, or bureaucrats).

i say study it and if it fits for you then just go for it.

just my opinion.

[AtomicPhil]

I agree with you eventide. I have know people that made money, but also lost, it all depends on you. If you know that your making money and stay a bit longer just to make more, like being greedy, it well bring you down. for me $100 or $200 a day is good enough and can make a living compared to busting my ass in these minimum wage jobs down here. im going to take a class in a community school, learn the theories and pratice on those sim accounts and work from there, then real money. This cruising shouldnt only be for the super rich only. or retires

[Eventide]

good for you, atomicphil. free sim trading is available from many sources. good luck.

[SabreKai]

I tried forex trading with a practice account a couple of years ago. I lost my shirt. I think there are better ways to go broke. Add in the complications of trying this in a marine environment with WIFI and all I can say is, dont gamble money you can't afford to lose.

Sabre

[AtomicPhil]

Oh no, im not using wifi or especially in the water, its at home with wired connection. life it self is a risk, im using this to save up to get a boat. now with the making a living ill just put my money into cd's and let it mature, and with the money i get use that to for boating.

[ParadiseDreams]

Hello, I've been lurking on these forums for a while, trying to learn more about yachting and in particular living aboard a boat while traveling the world.

I just created this account in hopes of setting the record straight when it comes to currency trading, or any speculative activity, before an unsuspecting person loses their entire life savings. I don't want to sound like a cynic, but trading anything is speculating, or better put, gambling. Most would laugh at others who go to a casino thinking they can make a quick buck and leave; yet this is precisely what is being discussed here, only worse.

There are only two ways to win this game:
1) Having inside information
2) Being lucky

I think the first is pretty self explanatory. Unless you get information which nobody else has access to or you get it before it's public knowledge you're at a disadvantage. The second is also self explanatory. If you're feeling lucky, go buy a lottery ticket or go to the casino and put it all on your favorite color.

Speculating in currencies, equities, commodities, etc. is a relatively complicated endeavor and knowing more doesn't improve your odds of 'winning.' No matter what you do, you're always gambling on interest rates, inflation, weather conditions, geopolitics, etc. However one thing all of those have in common is costs. The people making the money are the people that enable your trading, who sell you the software, who create the market systems. Don't even fool yourself in thinking you can win in a game where the big boys play. Speculating is no different than the Gold Rush, where the only winners were the people selling shovels (look up Samuel Brannan). Read this very eye opening piece by a Nobel Prize winner in Economics and a professor of Economics at Stamford, William F. Sharpe: Arithmetic of Active Management.

Now, I saw a few people write that they want to take classes on how to trade. Again, this is no different than buying any 'get rich quick' infomercial video. Classes about trading can actually be had for free by someone pedaling their products in helping you find your riches. If you want to take classes, take classes about investing, not trading. The basics are usually covered in macro and micro Economics classes available to most High School and College students. Better yet, read a few books (I can recommend many). Just think to yourself, if there were a system out there that constantly had a positive return that beat the market, the person who created such a system would be a fool to sell it.

There is a big distinction between investing in something (owning something for the long-term) and trading things hoping for short-term gain. The only way to make a quick buck is to invent something which doesn't exist, improve on something before someone else does, win the lottery or do something illegal. If you need cash flow while you're away sailing the world then consider buying bonds.

Just remember, you can make money when the market goes up, when it goes down, when it stays flat only if you know what it'll do in advance (which nobody has been able to do for an extended period of time, I repeat, NOBODY). There are no rewards without risks and taking risks doesn't guarantee rewards.

I'm sorry that my first post had to be so sobering, but I felt the others, who advised against this, were being too conciliatory. I hope I saved someone some hard-earned money, even if it makes me look like a jerk.

[Hud3]

A thought-provoking first post, Paradise Dreams. And very good advice, to my way of thinking. Welcome to CF!

[BlueWaterSail]

Originally Posted by ParadiseDreams

Just think to yourself, if there were a system out there that constantly had a positive return that beat the market, the person who created such a system would be a fool to sell it.

... ergo, that person achieves a positive return by selling a system that appears to constantly beat the market to the fools who believe him. He then buys a yacht and goes cruising.

Technical analysis software allows trading strategies to be "back-tested" and optimized to market movements of the past. This is the basis for all those "get rich quick" programs. The operative word here being "the past".
By implication, they have no way to adapt to the constantly changing dynamics of the markets.

An analogy would be the guy who stands up and says he can drive a mountain pass in hours less than others. He sells you the instructions on how to do it - based on many crossings of that particular road. You apply the system on a different mountain pass and you drive over a cliff and die.

As was already said, proceed with caution.

BWS